Shoe sole



1929- w. B..HOPWOOD 1,725,519

SHOE SOLE Filed Sept. 29, 1926 IN] 'EN TOR. Win/3w B. hoPwooo weight Patented Au 20, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

B. HOPWOOD, OI COLLEGE POINT, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE BEACON FALLS RUBBER SHOE COMPANY, OF B TION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

Application filed September This invention relates to improvements in shoe soles. More particularly it relates to a shoe sole of rubber or similar material having an arch support, and is specifically designed for embodiment on shoes of the type known as athletic shoes, although not limited to such use.

With shoes as. previously constructed, there is solid support for the ball of the foot, and for the heel of the wearer, but there is little or no sup ort for the arch of the foot. The shank 0 the shoe sole, as it has previously been constructed, is a thin strip of material held in spaced relation from the floor and easily flexed, downwardly by pressure.

It is an object of this invention to provide'an improved construction at the shank of a shoe sole whereby support is obtained at this point for the instep portion of the, foot of the wearer. It is a further object to provide a shoe sole which is light in while having arch supporting properties.

Other objects will be apparent from the specification andfrom the drawings in which latter: Fig. 1 is a side'elevation of a shoe having the improved type of solo; v

1Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the shoe so e;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view along y 'the line 33 of Fig. 2 showing the hollow vas top shank; and

Fig. 4 is a'transverse sectional view along the line 44 of Fig. 3 showing the shank in cross section.

Referring tothe drawings, Fig. 1 'repre sents an athletic shoe provided with the improved. sole. The sole may be, formed of rubber compositionand is fastened to a can- 1 by a foxing 2 around the outside of the sole and the lower portion of the upper with a toe piece 3 acting as a further reinforcement.

The ball and heel portions of the sole are provided with projections 4, at the apex of each of which is arecess forming a suction cup 5, this construction providing a sure grip on soft or smooth slip ery surfaces. Between the heel and ball 0 the sole is a shank portion 6 which is plain and; consid- EACON FALLS, CQNNECTICUT, A conrona- SHOE SOLE.

2 9, 1926. Serial No. 138,405.

erably thinner than the remainder of the sole. Extending around the entire periph cry of the sole is a rib 7 having a relatively broadfiat bearing surface. As shown in Fig. 3, this rib extends'upwardly to about the height of the projections 4: but in the finished shoe, due to the curvature of the last, the projections 4 extend slightly beyond therib 7 so as to allow compression of the projections and producea suction grip. The rib 7 which is slightly widened, as shown at 8, where it extends around the shank portion of the sole, furnishes an external arch support at this point for the foot of the wearer. As shown in Fig. 3, the rib portion 8 is substantially in the same horizontal plane as the balance of the rib 7, but in the completed shoe, due to the curvature of the last, the

arch supporting portion 8 of the rib is.v

slightly curved upwardly, as shown in Fig. 1. \Vhen the weight of the wearer is placed upon the sole, the arch supporting portion 8 of the rib bends downwardly slightly until it comes in contact with the fioor or other surface, and it then acts to support the arch have if not clad in a shoe. At the same time the shoe is not madeappreciably heavier and its flexibility is retained. o

While the invention has been descrlbed as applied to an athletic shoe it is contemplated to provide other types of shoes with a reinforcing rib at the instep thereof. If desired the rib need be positioned only at the instep and not extend throughout the length of the shoe as described.

' Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. As an articlelof manufacture, a shoe.

sole having relatively thick ball and heel portions, a relatively thin shank portion, and a rib of uniform thickness extending around the margin "of said sole, the portions of said,

rib on each side of the shank being of greater shank portion being substantiallythe same .width than the remaining portions thereof as the thickness of said ball and'heel por- 1 to form an external arch support. tions. V

2. A shoe sole comprising relatively thick Signed at College Point, L. 1., county of .5 ball and heel portions,arelatively thin shank Queens, and State of New York, this 20th portion connecting said ball and heel porday of September, 1926. tions, and marginal ribs on said shank portion, the thickness of the combined rib and WILLIAM B. HOPWOOD. 

